


In Flight

by tanyart



Category: BIRDMEN
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanyart/pseuds/tanyart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a few years of staring after each other.  Eishi makes the first move.  (Chapters 1-8 compliant.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Flight

Despite Eishi’s constant backburner anxiety about it, their first kiss ended up being on safe and solid ground.  He had been having weirdly distressing thoughts over kissing while flying lately, especially during a blackout, but his relief only lasted the half-second it took for him to break into Takayama’s personal space and plant one right on the mouth.  From there on Eishi felt sick, like hearing a continuous ringing screech for help in his head (his own voice, actually), combined with the indignant anger not having a choice in this.  _As usual_.

He hated that.  He wanted his options,  _needed_  them, but apparently when it came to being a teenager who was all sorts of crushed, he was going to fall head over heels for the brave selfless idiot who wore no underwear while rescuing strangers.  Kissing Takayama was unavoidable.  There were no other options—and never had been, really.

So there was no plummeting from the sky in shock when it happened but the kiss—all three seconds of it—felt like falling.  Their lips were chapped from flying and salty from the damp beach air, cold and ragged in the best way.  Takayama stayed where he was, rooted to the ground, neither pulling away or kissing back, but Eishi guessed they had both known for a while now.  They weren’t blind or deaf or  _oblivious_.  Takayama had a way of smiling at Eishi, saying things that were a little embarrassing to hear but made Eishi smile back anyway.  

It was obvious, maybe not from the start, but it was now.  Over the last few weeks it became a game of keeping the right distance, and waiting.  Waiting for  _what_ , Eishi had no idea, even if he did harbor a lot of secret fantasies of drawing Takayama up for a kiss after surviving a blackout, just so he could blame it on the adrenaline rush.

But Eishi didn’t know if he was the first to break, or if he was finally the one to act first for once.  There hadn’t been a blackout in days, no dramatic rescues to blame on the adrenaline. No kissing while flying, like he was afraid of.

Maybe that was why Takayama seemed taken aback, and Eishi had to admit feeling some kind of pathetic pleasure from noticing how Takayama’s entire body stiffened, the black spirals of his wings spiking up before coagulating back down to their normal size and shape.  He was fervently thankful for Takayama’s birdman form.  Without it, Takayama’s expression might’ve been unreadable.  He was always so in control but their powers reacted to emotions, and for a moment Takayama had been  _surprised_.

Eishi could feel his own skin crawl with anticipation.  His wings shifted, tar-like as they melted away, and he stepped back, clearing his throat.

“Well?  Got anything to say?” he said, too loud and too aggressively.

Takayama made a tiny noise, which was confusing but ultimately better than his usual stoic silence.  He lifted his hand, the tips of his claws brushing over his lips where Eishi had kissed him.  His wing mass grew, and he took a breath.

And took off, straight into the sky.

Eishi stared in disbelief.

“ _Whaaat?!_ ” he yelled up into the night. “Takayama!” And then, more forcefully; _Takayama!_

He saw the distant shadow of Takayama wince in midair.  _Good_.  He would never be able to fly as fast as Takayama, but sending thoughts to back and forth to his friends had come easy once he got the hang of it.

He flew after Takayama and stopped to hover close by as the misty air from a low-hanging cloud lingered in wisps around them. He scowled.  The sky was Takayama’s element, and he looked so much cooler, much more put together in the air.  Eishi wasn’t sure if he found it annoying or…  _annoying_.

“What gives?” he snapped, flapping furiously, all awkward limbs moving everywhere.  He couldn’t have been wrong about the whole thing.  He refused to be  _more_  crushed than Takayama because it was ridiculous, the level of pining he had been doing for no good reason.  Not without help, of course.  “Takayama, I swear, I physically  _can’t_  make things any more clearer-”

“I know.  I’m sorry,” Takayama interrupted, with the kind of nervous smile that stopped Eishi’s angry rant before it even began.

“Well, good,” Eishi huffed, but not for long.  Takayama had grabbed his hand in mid-flap.  He squawked.  “Oh my god, this isn’t a competition!”

“I know,” Takayama repeated.  He grinned.  “I just want to make things clear for you too.”

And he took off,  _again_.

This was exactly why Eishi didn’t want to kiss in mid-air.  He never thought clearly while flying.  He just loved it too much—the wings, the wind.  _Everything_.  He was smiling before he knew it.

Catching up to Takayama was suspiciously easy, and suddenly Takayama’s palms were against both sides of his face

_Eishi_ , _I like you too.  I really do._

It was a thought, silent over the rushing wind, but it came out just like a breathless laugh in Eishi’s mind.  Takayama looked giddy and excited, as if flying alone had put him into full motion and color. 

He wasn’t still and quiet anymore and there was no solid ground to keep them rooted.  Eishi stared, a little more than dazzled, and closed the gap between them.

And they were falling.


End file.
